9 Day Ten: France

So today was the day of my first ever mission with the team! We had to be up bright and early and as the sun crept over the horizon I felt more optimistic than ever before. Once we had arrived in France we suited up, then split up. Jack took control of an old abandoned building which gave him a perfect view of the town, Lee was flying from the rooftops of buildings, scanning the surroundings and Storm, Natalie and myself went to a cafe and ordered a coffee each in order to blend in. We each had individual headsets in and Jack checked up on me a number of times before the action began. Hope beaded my skin like dew on spring grass. I remember feeling it radiating in to soothe my blood. Before I could finish my delicious coffee we heard Lee shout to us that he had eyes on a suspicious looking truck. Seconds later there was an almighty scream followed by the sound of a collision. The scream tore through me like a great shard of glass. I felt my eyes widen and pulse quicken, my heart thudding like a rock rattling in a box. On Jack's command, we all leapt up and raced towards the lab where the sounds came from. Natalie raced along the rooftops of cars and Storm flew overhead so I was left alone momentarily as I raced after them. As I got to the lab I saw Jack fly down from the sky after hitching a lift from Lee, wish I had been given one, and watched him proceed to wipe out anyone in his way as he raced into the building after Victor. Completely forgetting the first lesson David had given me which was never loose track of your surroundings, I was grabbed by the coat and chucked headfirst into the back of a van which was occupied by two other men, Victor's men. As I got my breath back a hole in the roof suddenly opened and Victor dropped a time bomb in with us. This was when the panic set in. So with the sound of the ticking from the bomb in the background, I attempted to knock out the two soldiers first and then proceeded to use their bodies to protect myself when the bomb went off. Sure enough, the van exploded and I was thrown onto the ground. There was a tightness in my throat. I felt the need for oxygen but the fumes from the bomb were overpowering. Having exposed myself for too long, I got up and remembered what the mission was and ran after the crowds who were gathering around the fight between Victor and Jack. I caught Jack's eye just before Victor sent him flying into a wall which I still feel guilty about now. After about five minutes of intense fighting, Victor dropped to his knees and told Jack that "you're coming with me." Before anyone had clocked the bomb vest Victor was wearing he was thrown into a nearby building by Storm, which saved Steve's life. But the explosion devoured a whole floor and the loudest most piercing scream I had ever heard emerged. It sounded like a scream of wild panic. A scream of hysteria and disbelief, bordering on terror. Then silence. Desperate to save anyone unlucky enough to have been on that floor I raced inside but was then grabbed by Jack who told me that it was too dangerous to go in now. So instead we stood, as a team, watching the building go up in flames, waiting for the emergency services to come. I knew that I could have saved some people had I been allowed to have gone in, but I know I shouldn't think like that. Reflecting on this horrendous event, the image of Storm dropping to her knees in complete despair still haunts me now. We sat in silence as we travelled back to the Compound. In fact, the rest of the day was spent in silence. Except for David who was on calls for most of the afternoon, dealing with the consequences of this mission. I'm sure we will find out soon enough what these consequences are.